New Bern candidates in the Tuesday runoff election spent most of the day Saturday standing beside the parking lot of the Craven County Board of Elections greeting last-minute early voters.

Jeff Odham, running against Ashley Smith for the Ward 6 seat on the Board of Aldermen, was standing near campaign workers and his supporters, Also there was New Bern mayoral candidate Dana Outlaw, who was standing in the parking lot talking to a couple of voters.

Other candidates, including Smith; Dallas Blackiston, who is running against Alfred “Popeye” Barfield in Ward 1; and New Bern mayoral candidate Sabrina Bengel had left to pursue other engagements before the 1 p.m. early voting deadline.

Odham said the day started slow, but was steady.

“This has been a learning experience,” Odham said. “I’ve enjoyed meeting a lot of people, and I could not believe the support I have received. It’s been very humbling.”

Barfield drove up and let a voter out.

“I’m just asking God to be my pencil when they go in there and they all vote for me,” Barfield said. “I hope everybody is realizing there is a better thing out there.”

Outlaw said early voting wasn’t the end for him. The real work will begin in the next three days leading to the election, he said.

Outlaw said he was confident and thought people in New Bern know how he would lead. He nodded to his Chevrolet truck in the parking lot, saying that, with a rake and shovel in the back, would be his mayor’s office because he planned to get out in the community.

Barbara Lee, who also ran for New Bern mayor but did not make the runoff, was standing with Outlaw. Edwin Vargas, who also ran for mayor, pulled up on his three-wheel bicycle with an Outlaw for mayor sign attached to his basket.

While the candidates talked and waited for last-minute voters, Jeane Gregory was preparing to leave the Board of Elections office wearing her “I voted” sticker about half an hour before the early voting polls closed.

Gregory said she works so she decided to take advantage of early voting on Saturday.

“I already knew who I was going to vote for,” she said.

Gregory said she had “mixed emotions” about the mayoral candidate debates, but she read about all the candidates.

“I voted with my heart and mind,” she said.

Meloni Wray, director of the Craven County Board of Elections, said 2,518 took advantage of early voting in the runoff. That compares with a total of 2,675 in the 2009 election.

Polls will open on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.